International Criminal Court responds to Israel and US threats: “They could be a crime”

Following threats and warnings from Israel and the United States in recent days, Prosecutor Karim Khan of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said this Friday that threatening “retaliation” against the court and its staff is “weakening” . independence and impartiality of their work”, and also “may constitute a crime.”

In a statement released this Friday, Khan asked that “all attempts to obstruct, intimidate or improperly influence (ICC) officials cease immediately” and assured that threatening the court “is a violation of Article 70 of the Justice A crime may be committed against the administration under this Act.” Rome Statute”, the founding treaty of the ICC – which neither Israel nor the US has signed.

The ICC Treaty “explicitly prohibits” both “retaliation against an official of the Court because of duties performed by that or another official” and “any action taken by an official of the Court for the purpose of coercing or inducing non-compliance.” “Obstructs, intimidates or corrupts an official, or improperly performs his or her duties,” according to the EFE agency.

Khan has stated that his team “seeks to engage constructively with all stakeholders whenever such interactions are consistent with its mandate” and to act “independently and impartially” under the law. “However, that independence and impartiality is undermined when individuals threaten reprisals against the Court or Court staff in investigating or deciding cases within its jurisdiction.”

The prosecutor’s response comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said through social networks

that “Israel hopes that the leaders of the free world will firmly oppose the ICC’s outrageous attack on Israel’s inherent right to self-defense.” “We hope they will use all the tools at their disposal to stop this dangerous measure,” the far-right urged, without specifying what measures the ICC might take. The Israeli press has assured that the court is preparing arrest warrants against Netanyahu and other senior officials for their role in the war against the Gaza Strip, rumors that have currently not been confirmed by The Hague nor the prosecutor’s office or the court. .

Nevertheless, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, described the alleged arrest warrants against Israeli officials as “shameful” and “illegal”, while several Republican lawmakers are working on legislative retribution against the court in The Hague.

The ICC has been investigating allegations of war crimes allegedly committed by Israeli military forces and Palestinian militias within the occupied Palestinian territories, including the current conflict in Gaza since 2014. The US does not recognize the legitimacy of this court in its ongoing investigation of the situation in the Palestinian territories, although it supports other investigations, such as the one opened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.